Perfect Illusion
by Lady Lilith La Belle
Summary: One-shot but I may end up doing a second part or two. James P March/ OC


_Tryin' to get control_

 _Pressure's takin' its toll_

 _Stuck in the middle zone_

 _I just want you alone_

I love him. The moment I saw his ghostly features. His charismatic brown eyes. Heard his charming accent. The moment we shook hands, it was like I met a beloved memory long forgoten.

Who couldn't help but return his smile? Who couldn't help but be lured by his charm? I fell instantly.

 _My guessing game is strong_

 _Way too real to be wrong_

 _Caught up in your show_

 _Yeah, at least now I know_

He's married. She doesn't love him thoigh. She told me she never did. But I love him. I know he has to feel the same about me. We both love the art in killing. I have never harmed another person, but what danger is there in getting lost in imagination. James never pressured me to kill. He never asked that of me. He was done with killing. His life's work complete. He told me he had a knew reason to stay in this world. I believed it was me, like a silly lovestruck girl.

 _It wasn't love, it wasn't love_

 _It was a perfect illusion (Perfect illusion)_

 _Mistaken for love, it wasn't love_

 _It was a perfect illusion (Perfect illusion)_

 _You were a perfect illusion_

Then I found out about his nightly dinners with his beautiful wife. I found out how he had her killed so that she would remain in the hotel forever with him against her will. The night she died, his work was complete and he has his reason for living dining with him every night.

It hurt. I thought I had died instantly as I heard each truthful word for once. Then I thought about his sweet words he'd whispered to me every time we were alone. He gave me gifts. He had drinks with me. We talked for hours without fault, but he merely wanted to know about rather than get to know me.

 _I don't need eyes to see_

 _I felt you touchin' me_

 _High like amphetamine_

 _Maybe you're just a dream_

I avoided him then. But I still missed his touch and his sweet nothings. A charmer is what James Patrick March is. A dangerous and handsome man with a hidden agenda. I mean, why would he want to know things about me? He told me he had given up killing. Of course, that also could have been a lie. Maybe he wanted to profile his future kills now.

 _That's what it means to crush_

 _Now that I'm wakin' up_

 _I still feel the blow_

 _But at least now I know_

Instead of staying in the hotel, I got an apartment a few miles away from the Cortez. I only came to the hotel when it was my nights to sing and work as a batender. The hotel's business was booming. The whole place was remodeled to accommodate all the guests but it kept it's old time charm. The charm of the hotel was James in a sense. I never saw him while I sang on the stage, but I felt him watching. As the shows got bigger and the hotel gained nightly residents who stayed just to hear me sing, I swear I could feel him watching me only inches away.

 _Where are you?_

 _Cause I can't see you_

 _It was a perfect illusion_

 _But I feel you watchin' me_

 _Dilated, falling free_

 _In a modern ecstasy_

I never stayed the night in the Cortez. I didn't date any men for my trust was broken, but my love for music still lived and it was my drug. Soon the shows became more than just live singing. We introduced dancing as well and business at the Cortez was at a record high. Everything was going well till one night, I felt his presence and his eyes one me merely inches away again. Only this time, it was while I was in my apartment miles away from the hotel.

 _Cause I can't see you_

 _It was a perfect illusion_

 _But I feel you watchin' me_

 _But I feel you watchin' me_

 _Illusion_

 _But I feel you watchin' me_

 _Mistaken for love_

 _Where were you_

 _Cause I can't see_

 _But I feel you watchin' me_

 _Mistaken for love_

 _Dilated, falling free_

 _In a modern ecstasy_

I was hesitant to look towards him. How could I forget about tonight? The one night he wouldn't be confined to his precious hotel and wife. Devils Night. His gaze didn't feel threatening. Nor did his presence, but I am no longer blind. James is a dangerous man. I can feel his eyes raking over my body. I had been undressing in my bedroom before he made his presence known. Only in my bra and matching underwear, I felt bare and exposed.

 _I'm over the show_

 _Yeah at least now I know_

"James."

His name came from my lips aost naturally. There is nothing natural about him though. I feel his hand begin to gently caress my face. I know his is directly beside me. I feel his lips press slightly against my ear,

"My darling."

I hear him inhale the scent of my hair.

"We haven't spoke in months my dear. I have grown to be quite concerned. I miss our nightly chats."

I chose my words and tone carefully. Still unmoving,

"Like you wanted your nightly dinners with your wife so much you had her killed?"

His caressing hand instantly flew from my cheek and he took a few steps back. Still I did not move.

"Ah, I see you found out about that. It wasn't that big of a deal really. A man and his wife should spend eternity with one another. I did not have her killed though my darling. That was all up to my protégé. As my luck would have it, now she is mine for eternity. But you my dear. You allude me. Even after I told you I mean you no harm. You are a beauty without a doubt. You have the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. An explicitly amazing body that can move to any song. Every word I say to you now is true."

My heart did flips and stumbles.

 _I'm over the show_

 _Yeah at least now I know_

I turn to him then. I look him in the eye. I see emotion behind them for once. Emotion I did not expect. Desperation. Pleading. Raw emotion. His tone from his words said something else entirely. What else should I expect from a psychopath? He doesn't love. He wants ownership of the things he wants. He wanted Elizabeth and he has her now. He wanted his life's work complete and that took him nearly a century. But what does he want now? He couldn't possibly want me.

"I don't believe you."

The words are above a whisper, but they come out strongly. James reacts immediately. I feel his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to fully fce him now. His right hand slides gently down my arm and I expect him to suddenly pull out a knife to stab me. Instead, he places that hand on my waist and places the other on the back of my neck. His intense eyes never leave mine when confusion sets upon my face. He pulls me in then. His lips meet mine and I'm under his spell. Under his perfect illusion. I love him. I will always love him. But even now as he kisses me with seemingly real emotion and vigor, I'm still doubtful. I kiss him back with equal eagerness. My arms around his neck. I don't want to let go. I don't want to break the perfect illusion. But then I feel it. Something twisting in my gut. Not a knife. No weapon of any kind, but my will is breaking. I have to break free from him. I would not truly be me if I stay under this illusion. As intense as he may be giving his affection, I can't allow myself to give in.

 _I'm over the show_

 _Yeah at least now I know_

I force myself to unwrap my arms from him and it takes every will in my body to break any from his lips. I force myself to stop the tears forming from falling from my eyes. I caress his face now,

"James,"

His eyes are bright with life. He looks genuinely happy. He sees the wary in my eyes,

"Can we just have tonight, my darling?"

I don't want just tonight. I want everynight. So, I smile and nod. He's under my illusion now. I let him love me until the morning. I relish in his touch and am bare for him to do as he pleases. But he doesn't know what I plan to do. He doesn't know that he has already lost.

I wake up in the morning alone. All is as expected. Devil's Night is over and I am alone once again. I take a shower and get dressed for the day. My walk about the town leads my further away from the hotel than I had been in almost a year. I'm across L.A. in a matter of hours. I make my way to the house I lived in s a child. It still looks the same. It still feels so welcome to me. As I walk through the door, I sense a presence I haven't felt since I first left and in moments he is in front of me in the living room. I smile at his face. Unchanged and familiar to the one I fell in love with. I smile at him with madness in my eyes. He can see that I've lost my mind. He recognizes me and hugs me for a long time. Once he pulls away, I speak with a broken voice,

"Hey Tate, I need your help."

 _I'm over the show_

 _Yeah at least now I know_

James doesn't find out until a month after Devils Night. You hadn't shown up to work since that nught. Elizabeth was enraged. She thought he did it. They got into the worst fight imaginable over it. James felt too many emotions that day and every day after he found out. He wanted to leave the hotel the moment he was told. For once, he wanted to leave the hotel. He needed to see. He had to know that your death hadn't been painful. He couldn't stand not knowing. All he knew was that you were dead. He would never see you again unless you came back as as spirit. That was the only thought that gave him hope. He had to know. He had to know if you suffered.

When Devils Night finally came around. He was restless. It was almost midnight when you finally walked through the doors of the Cortez. He was waiting for you in his room. As soon as you saw him, you regretted your actions. As soon as he saw you, he had you in his arms and he kissed you with such intensity that you knew you were wrong. He does love you. Maybe he didn't right away, but in the end he did. You knew that he thought you were dead. You hid for almost a year in the Murder House. Tate took care of you. You took care of the undead residents in return.

James knew that he would have been outraged had he not been so estatic that you were actually alive. He realized the mistake he made last Devils Night,

"Please forgive me for my error my love. I want us to have forever and eternity. I want to know that you are not suffering or in any pain. I apologize for the pain I have caused. Not just you Elizabeth was able to move on a few months ago. I've never been so alone in my life, both in the living and undead. If you would have me, I would not make the mistake of letting you go or betraying your trust ever again."

I smiled. My eyes lit up brightly as I nodded.

"I believe you, James."


End file.
